With Oct. 31 just a day away, we have a lot to look forward to – and Avery, in particular, is super excited about her first Halloween! I’m sure we’ll have lots of pictures to share this weekend…

-M

On the way home from preschool yesterday, Zoe told me that one of her classmates was on vacation. I wondered aloud where he might be – perhaps, I said, he was visiting family – and then the following exchange occurred.

Z: “I’m going to go visit Safta and PopPop.”
Me: “You are? When?”
Z: “When I go on an airplane!”
Me: “Oh, right – and guess who else you’re going to see next month?”
Z: “Who?”
Me: “Grandma and Grandpa.”
Z (sucking in her breath): “Oooh! I like them!”

I guess someone is excited to see all her grandparents!

When it comes to the kids, one of the things that makes me most happy is how loving and caring Zoe is towards her sister. She’s always kissing and cuddling with her, as you’ll see below; she often alerts me to the baby’s needs (“Avery’s crying, Mommy – she needs milk,” she’ll say); and she also likes to share with her. I learned the latter on Mon., when we were at the doctor’s and Zoe was choosing her post-flu-shot treat. After plucking two stickers from the basket, she held one up and told me, “This one is for Avery – for when she gets her flu shot.” I couldn’t help but smile.

-M

As mentioned below, the four of us went to the zoo for some trick-or-treating on Sun. It was fun to get the girls dressed up in their matching (cat) costumes, run around collecting candy with Zoe, and pose for some pictures. Here are my favorite shots.

-M

It was three years ago today that we started this blog and wrote our first post. It’s fun to think of all that has happened since then – when you have two kids in a three-year span, life certainly changes! One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is our dedication to blogging and keeping family/friends updated on our lives – and we thank our readers for your dedication, too! We’re at 34,000 visits and counting… Let’s see where we’re at in 2012!

-M

As I commented to Q earlier today, I love Halloween-time in San Francisco. It’s like a national holiday here, and there are activities – for both kids and adults – almost every weekend in Oct. We took full advantage this weekend – with the Stern Grove party mentioned below, the Noe Valley Harvest Festival yesterday and a “Boo at the Zoo” event today. Zoo pictures are coming soon; for now, check out our time at yesterday’s festival, where Zoe painted pumpkins and the four of us posed for fun portraits.

-M

Yesterday was a big day for Zoe. After spending the morning with Miles and Zander and (thankfully) taking a long nap, she headed to a Halloween party at Stern Grove – where she ran into her old friend Tessa. The two girls, who both went to daycare at Elena’s, hadn’t seen each other in two months – but after just a few minutes of shy giggles, they were holding hands, jumping around, and going on rides together. It was a fun night!

-M

It was a gorgeous (typical Indian summer) day here, and Zoe, Avery and I met up with Zoe’s boy-friends at the playground. The three older kids spent the entire morning running around, playing games and hugging – and, though no one was happy about going home, they even held hands as we all left together. Here are some pics.

-M

I recently mentioned that Avery has been able to roll on her side for some time now. Well, she hit a milestone yesterday – when she completed the effort to roll over on her stomach. Q had plunked her down on her back, and we were excited to find her in a different position just a few minutes later. I had to, of course, snap a picture to mark the occasion.

-M

Despite the fact that her (increasingly long) hair is always getting in her eyes, Zoe is reluctant to wear anything in it. (Believe me, we’ve tried.) Last night, though, she agreed to put on a little strawberry headband – and the second she placed it on her hair, she was transformed from a toddler to a little girl. I had to blink back tears as I told her how pretty she was, and Zoe, who obviously liked the way she looked, too, danced around as she said, “Look – Mommy’s crying. Mommy’s sad.” I shook my head and explained to her that I wasn’t sad – I was actually happy and feeling proud of my “big girl.” She probably thought I was crazy, but I think any parent would get where I was coming from. There are moments when it hits you just how much your child has grown and just how much you love him/her – and this was one such moment for me.

-M

Avery is four months today, and there are a few developments to report on. She’s constantly “talking” these days – if you say something to her, she usually coos in a rhythmic pattern, as if she’s trying to respond. She’s incredibly smiley – she almost always grins and shakes in happiness when someone picks her up from her crib in the morning or after a nap – and she still (usually) isn’t much of a crier. She’s finally starting to show interest in little toys, and she loves holding on to things. (She has a really strong grip!) We recently brought out the ExerSaucer, as shown below, and she gets really excited to stand there and explore its little animals and playthings.

As for physical milestones, she’s been able to roll over to her side for awhile now – but she now does it all the time: if you put her on her back, you’ll likely find her on her side the next time you look. (Taking the picture below, as example, was a bit of a challenge. Every time I got ready to snap a photo, she rolled over!) She also doesn’t seem to mind “tummy time” like some babies do, and she can hold her head up for fairly long stretches of time. A few weeks ago, she also started to “scoot” up and down; when we put her in the middle of her crib, she usually winds up at the top in just a few minutes.

We’ve gotten her on a nice eating schedule (7 AM, 11 AM, 2:30 PM, 6:30 PM, 9:30 PM) during the day/evening, but we’re still working out the middle-of-the-night thing. She had been waking up just once to eat for many weeks, but she regressed after our travels last month and a little cold last week; now she’s waking up two or more times a night. (Oy!) Given my recent return to work, the timing is unfortunate – but we just have to be positive that she’ll turn it around sometime soon!

As mentioned earlier, she measures 25.5 inches and weighs about 15.5 pounds now. She’s had some more (dark brown) hair grow in, and her eyes remain grey-blue. Zoe’s didn’t change until she was more than a year, though – so it will likely be awhile before we know what color Avery’s eyes really will be!

In honor of the four-month mark, I thought it was a good time to take a photo with Lou. Check out how much she’s grown since her last picture with him.

-M

Another milestone for the girls last night: we took them to their first football game. It wasn’t an NFL game, but instead a UFL one, but it was a professional game just the same. (We were cheering for the California Redwoods.) Zoe’s favorite part? The fireworks at the beginning. And Avery? She just seemed happy to be there.

-M

“First down!”

“I like football!”

“So do we!”

…You fall alseep while playing. The other day Avery got so worn out from her hippo mat that she closed her eyes and snoozed – while still holding on to one of the dangling toys. If only getting her to sleep was always this easy!!

-M

Since my last post was such a downer, I thought I’d share a few recent Zoe stories that have made me smile. (Oh, and by the way, last night was an okay one for Avery. I think we’re all feeling better now!)

-Us girls often drop off Q at the Muni in the morning. The other day, after he got out of the car, Avery started crying. “Oh!” said Zoe. “She misses Daddy!”

-I told Zoe one day that I had to go get Avery “next door.” I meant the other room, but Zoe laughed at me and said, “She’s not next door, Mommy! She’s in the house!”

-We were stuck in traffic earlier this week and when I saw police lights, I knew why. “There’s an accident,” I commented out loud. “Oh,” said Zoe from the backseat. “Someone went pee-pee?”

-Zoe is often talking about going on airplane trips and I asked her yesterday what her favorite part of flying is. “Seeing Grandpa and Safta,” she said. (She still occasionally gets her grandparents confused – calling Grandpa “PopPop” and vice versa – but the sentiment was sweet just the same!)

-Zoe recently climbed up to watch me change Avery on her changing table. “Oh, Avery,” Zoe said, squeezing her arm. “You make me happy!”

-M

I jinxed us. That’s the only real explanation for what has happened this week. Almost immediately after I blogged about feeling better about life with two kids, and commented that things should continue getting easier, things, in fact, stopped being easy. Avery has a cold, we think, and has slept in only 2-hour stretches for the past few nights. It’s like caring for a newborn again, and everyone in the house is impacted. (Poor Q and Zoe were up with the two of us at 4 AM!) I’m feeling tired and a little glum (and I’m wondering: will she ever sleep normally again??); clearly, I need to be careful about what I post from now on!

-M